1. Technical Field
This invention relates to the art of creating surface coatings that reduce friction at metal wear interfaces or contacts, and more particularly to the use of anti-friction solid film lubricants for such interfaces modified to withstand high unit scraping or bearing loads at high temperatures while functioning with either full or partial wet lubrication.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
The utility of certain solid film lubricants for bearings has been known for some time. U.S. Pat. No. 1,654,509 (1927) discloses use of powder graphite trapped or covered by a metal binder (i.e., iron, aluminum, bronze, tin, lead, babbitt, or copper) to form a thick coating; all of the metal is heated to at least a thermoplastic condition by melting or arc spraying to bury the graphite. The coating offers limited friction reducing characteristics. Unfortunately (i) the graphite is not exposed except by significant wear of the metal, thus never realizing significantly lower friction; (ii) the metal is in a molten condition prior to trapping or burying the graphite causing thermal effects and distortions; and (iii) oxides of the metal serve as the primary lubricant.
The prior art has also appreciated the advantage of thermally spraying (by oxy-fuel) aluminum bronze as a solid film lubricant onto cylinder bore surfaces of an engine as demonstrated in U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,056. The lubricating quality of such coating at high temperatures is not satisfactory because (i) it lacks compatibility with piston ring materials which usually comprise cast iron, molybdenum coated cast iron, or electroplated hard chromium; and (iii) thermal spraying of the material by oxy-fuel is not desirable because of very high heat input necessitating elaborate tooling to rapidly dissipate heat to avoid distortion of its coated part.
One of the coauthors of this invention has previously disclosed certain solid lubricants operable at high temperatures, but designed for either interfacing with ceramics, not metals, at low load applications in the absence of any liquids, or with metals in an oilless environment. One solid lubricant disclosed comprised graphite and boron nitride in a highly viscous thermoplastic polymer binder spread in a generous volume onto a seal support comprised of nickel and chromium alloy. The formulation was designed to provide a hard coating which softens at the surface under load while at or above the operating temperature and functioning only under dry operating conditions. Thermoplastic polymer based formulations, without modification, are unsatisfactory in meeting the needs of a highly loaded engine component, such as a cylinder bore, because the interfacing surfaces are subject to wet lubrication, the unit loads are significantly higher (approaching 500 psi), and the surface temperatures are higher, causing scraping. Another solid lubricant disclosed was halide salts or MoS.sub.2 (but not as a combination) in a nickel, copper, or cobalt binder; the coating, without modifications, would not be effective in providing a stable and durable anti-friction coating for the walls of an internal combustion cylinder bore, because the formulations were designed to operate under dry conditions and against ceramics (primarily lithium aluminum silicate and magnesium aluminum silicate, and, thus, the right matrix was not used nor was the right combination of solid lubricants used. Particularly significant is the fact that the formulations were designed to produce a ceramic compatible oxide (e.g., copper oxide or nickel oxide) through partial oxidation of the metal in the formulation. These systems were designed to permit as much as 300-500 microns wear. In the cylinder bore application, only 5-10 micron wear is permitted.
It is an object of this invention to provide a coating composition that economically reduces friction in high temperature environments, the composition containing solid lubricants that provide a coefficient of sliding friction of less than 0.06 when applied as a liquid, such as by atomizing spray, or as a paste for transfer pad imprinting or silk screen imprinting.